Baron Zido, the servant of Prince Shion, was a man with the appearance of a loyal retainer.

　He was probably in his late thirties. His strong physique, stern countenance, and grave manner of speech indicated a stern personality. Frankly speaking, I did not feel that he was brilliant, but his words and deeds indicated a stable spirit and loyalty to the Imperial family.

　The Baron had lost his right arm in battle, and was now a one-armed man. According to the story I heard from Princess Sakuya, when Baron Zido was a knight of the Kingsguard, he had saved the Emperor's life by giving his own life on the battlefield.

　The emperor was very grateful to him for saving his life, and ordered the knight, who lost one of his arms and could no longer fight, to take over the baronial family, whose name had been discontinued. From now on, he was to serve as a nobleman, not a knight.

　Even after he became a nobleman, Baron Zido continued to work diligently, and the emperor seems to have appreciated this and appointed him as a guardian of his youngest son.

　If a count or a marquis were appointed as a guardian, an ambitious guardian might try to take the throne with Prince Shion. On the other hand, a baron without an estate would not be able to foster ambition. It is likely that this is one of the reasons why Baron Zido was appointed as a guardian.

　--The fact that the baron is still serving as a guardian suggests that the emperor has no intention of changing the order of succession to the throne.

　I nodded my head in agreement. According to the information Miroslav had given me in Ithaca, there was a rift among the royal families in the Ad Astera Empire over the next emperor.

　If the emperor is planning to disinherit the current crown prince, Rishard, and put Prince Shion on the throne, he should have more people around Shion.

　After all, Prince Richard has been assisting his father for more than twenty years since he came of age, and he has accumulated achievements in both politics and warfare. When compared to the youngest prince, who is not yet ten years old, it is obvious to anyone which one is more suitable for the imperial throne.

　If the emperor wanted to overturn the difference, he would have to increase the number of vassals who assisted Prince Shion.

　Nevertheless, the prince's most trusted servant remains a baron. This suggests that the emperor has no intention of appointing Prince Shion as crown prince.

　The rumors of friction between the royal families may be a complete lie, but it is quite possible that the rumors are only about petty discord.

　Such an idea crossed my mind, but I didn't try to confirm this point with Baron Zied. If I were to say anything, he might suspect me of being a secret agent of the Canary Kingdom. Above all, I had no interest in the battle for the throne of Ad Astera, so I didn't see the need to check.


　When Baron Zido confirmed that the letter of introduction I had brought for Princess Sakuya was genuine, he promised that he would certainly hand over to the emperor the letter of intent from the princess to the emperor, the one in the tightly sealed tube. Fortunately, the Emperor was not disappointed.

　Fortunately, the Emperor said that he would come to see Prince Shion every three days, so there would be no problem in handing over the letter. After that, God only knows whether the Emperor will insist on seeing me or not.

　Incidentally, Baron Zido's plan to visit the imperial palace, have an audience with the emperor, and hand over the letter was rejected by Princess Sakuya. The imperial princess, who had just married into another country, was trying to arrange for the dragon-slayer to meet the emperor, and the dragon-slayer was a member of the disinherited Miken family. That was what the princess said.

　She was absolutely right, and there was no room for objection. So, although it was a bit of a roundabout way, the emperor seized the opportunity when he came to see the prince to give him the letter.

　Now, it would be necessary for me to stay in the Imperial Capital for a few days. As for lodging, Baron Zido has offered to let me stay at his house, so I'll take him up on his offer, but what should I do with my free time?

　I'd like to go see the Imperial City, but considering Kreia's feelings, I can't just relax and enjoy sightseeing. Well, I'll think about that in the future... But no matter what I thought, I ended up entering the Imperial Palace that day.

　However, the emperor did not ask me to meet him. It was Prince Shion who wanted to meet me. When he learned that the envoy of his sister, who had married into another country, was coming, he eagerly asked her to tell him about her sister's condition in the Canary Kingdom. He eagerly asked her to tell him how she was doing in the Canary Kingdom.

　At first, Baron Zido shook his head in consideration of our fatigue after just arriving at the Imperial Capital, but the usually good-hearted prince unusually insisted. It seems that the elder sister and younger brother were very close, and the younger brother must have been feeling very lonely since the elder sister had married into another country.

　This is the reason why Baron Zido could not ignore the prince's wish to marry again, and this is how I came to enter the imperial palace.

　--In all honesty, I had my doubts about whether I could simply invite a stranger from another country, whose face I didn't even know until yesterday, into the imperial palace and even allow him to meet the prince, no matter how much he had brought the imperial princess's letter of intent.

　But no matter what their intentions were, if there was an opportunity to get close to the emperor, he should take it. I decided to meet Prince Shion, thinking that I would not be attacked in the dark. 　





Nice to meet you, I'm Shion.


　He smiled calmly, and his face was very similar to that of Princess Sakuya.

　She was thinner than her elder sister, and her personality was not as deep, but this made it possible for me to deal with her without any hesitation. There was no need to be as cautious or wary of this younger brother as there was when he met the elder sister.

　--The younger prince is more like an imperial princess.

　I exchanged words with the prince, thinking that I would surely be charged with disrespect if I mentioned it.

　It seems that Baron Zido has not told the prince anything about me, and the prince asks me only about my sister.

　He asked me how I was doing, if the food was good for my taste, and if the people in the Royal Palace of Canary disliked me.

　As I didn't know anything about Princess Sakuya in the palace, these questions were quite tough, but there was no way I could say "I don't know. Recalling how the princess looked when she met me, and what she had heard from Lord Dragunaut and Claudia, I carefully answered each of Prince Shion's questions.

　Whenever he heard my answer, he nodded enthusiastically and smiled happily. I could see that he was truly concerned about my sister.

　The Prince's kindness was evident in this one instance alone.

　Seeing the prince, I suddenly thought.

　This prince would not be able to fight for the throne. Kindness at heart is one of the prince's virtues, but it is an emotion that will only hinder him from overtaking his brother and taking the throne. As an emperor, he would have to make ruthless decisions, killing his own selfishness to achieve his goals, which Prince Shion would not be able to do.

　In a way, this prince is less suited to be an emperor than the Crown Prince Azar.

　On the other hand, the prince's kindness attracts people.

　Even I, who have never met him before, feel at ease with him. The courtiers who are in constant contact with the prince must be very protective of him.

　--I couldn't help but think that he was in danger.

　An accomplished prince and a well-liked youngest son. At the moment, it seems that the conflict has not yet reached the point of full-scale ignition due to the prince's young age, but in the future, as the prince grows up, the conflict will become more and more acute. Even if the prince is not suited for the emperor's position, and even if he himself does not want the throne, the people around him will try to promote him.

　The crown prince would not sit back and wait for his brother's rival to grow in power.

　The rumor that Miroslav had investigated might have been scooped up from the atmosphere of such a clandestine confrontation--that was when he was thinking about it.

　The door of the room rapped in a hurry. At the sound of the prince's voice, the prince's retainer entered the room and announced to the prince in a rather panicked manner.

　His Majesty will be here shortly," he said.